FILE PHOTO: The President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, holds a press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, March 17, 2020. REUTERS / Henry Romero / File Photo
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday that he would maintain a less conflictive approach to fighting drug gangs even after one of Mexico’s most powerful cartels showed its firepower in a video that surprised Mexicans.
A video allegedly shot by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), showing dozens of gang members armed with bulletproof vests in front of armored vehicles painted in military-style camouflage, went viral on social media on Friday.
López Obrador said he would not repeat the mistakes of previous administrations that could not contain the cartel’s violence, which arose after former President Felipe Calderón launched a military-led offensive against the gangs in late 2006.
“Violence cannot be faced with violence, fire cannot be extinguished with fire, evil cannot be faced with evil,” he said. “Evil must be confronted with good.”
López Obrador said his government would confront gangs with intelligence rather than force, focusing on poverty and other root causes of crime.
“We are not going to declare war,” he said.
With homicides reaching record levels, the President has come under increasing scrutiny over his security policy, rated by López Obrador as one of “hugs, not bullets.”
Many analysts argue that his approach has emboldened criminal groups. Murders in Mexico in the first six months of the year reached a record high, data showed Monday.
Reports of Raúl Cortés; Written by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Richard Chang
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